ARC-7537 "Wasp"
"...CT-7537 has developed a habit of looking over people's shoulders out of curiosity. He's also half decent with a vibroblade. Gonna be "Wasp" for this one." - Unidentified training sergeant ARC-7537, known informally by the nickname "Wasp", -not to be mistaken for VT-5515 "Wasp", a volunteer trooper in the 111th Heavy Brigade who later went rogue and betrayed his unit-, was a clone of the Mandalorian bounty hunter Jango Fett who served in the Grand Army of the Galactic Republic's Freelance Airborne Platoon and later on the 373rd Arrowhead Legion. Initially serving as a standard clone trooper, he went on to gain ARC status and become a Major in the 373rd. History Early Life Wasp received standard trooper training on Kamino and was singled out for sharpshooter training like hundreds of other clone troopers. He was henceforth equipped with the DC-15x sniper rifle as his primary weapon. 7537 was transferred into the Freelance Airborne Platoon under the command of then-Lieutenant ARC-6224-7, who's unit of specialists operated separately from it's parent company, sparing them from the future destruction of the entire affiliated battalion. They did not see action during the First Battle of Geonosis, however they did take part in the First Battle of Kamino and Wasp earned a large kill count with his sharpshooter training. He took part in numerous engagements alongside the rest of the platoon, resulting in various victories and carefully guarded small scale defeats for the Grand Army. Shortly after the induction of Phase II armour into the rank and file of the Grand Army, Freelancer Platoon's parent battalion was completely destroyed during a course of events that mounted into a devastating loss for the Republic. Freelancer Platoon was amalgamated into the newly-formed 373rd Arrowhead Legion, inspiring Wasp to switch out his airborne armour for the legion's standard attire. He proved himself to be a capable leader who could formulate plans that caused maximum damage to CIS ground forces while keeping the majority of his given assets alive, and was promoted by Commander Greyloc to Major as well as given Hornet Battalion as his personal fighting unit. 7537 fought in many battles with the 373rd before attaining the rank of Major, including the Battle of Umbara, where the 373rd worked alongside the 187th to tackle some particularly nasty Umbaran combat positions. When outranked and among soldiers with far more experience, Wasp preferred to serve as a support role where his marksmanship would most come in handy. He also believed that ensuring that his troopers were kept in fighting shape physically, mentally and spiritually would maintain a high efficiency rating. He was a man of few words, despite being an expert tactician. Coruscant Wasp and Hornet Battalion were stationed on Coruscant for a stint before the end of the Clone Wars, where he worked alongside members of the Coruscant Guard, 501st Legion, and Red Knights Vanguard for the purpose of cleaning up a large portion of Coruscant's violent criminal underworld after it was discovered that various members of the criminal element had smuggled Confederate droids on-world. It was under these circumstances that he met and formed attachments with CT-1300-2400 "Dart" and ARC-1574-8 "Dusty". Following one of the final stints in this series of operations he and his battalion were enlisted by a female volunteer Advanced Reconnaissance Commando to capture a rogue ARC trooper who had worked alongside the 501st Legion. Wasp's unit was purposefully held back by the VARC while he searched a medium-sized area in the Undercity, and he succeeded in overpowering and capturing the rogue by himself. It turned out that the VARC had withdrawn his troopers to draw her prey out before they swooped in to engage him as a whole, but that was not needed and Wasp was rapidly shipped to a training facility to complete a fast-paced ARC training course where he officially earned ARC status. Upon returning to his unit's barracks on Coruscant, he reprimanded the officers of Hornet Battalion for abandoning their CO while they chuckled to themselves. Ultimately their relationships were not affected by this. Desertion "This is Major Wasp, the Senate guard has been compromised. All units move in and neutralise the threat. Trust no-one!"~ARC-7537, calling on 373rd Legion reinforcements. During one assignment off-world, Wasp had provided sniper support for a squad of Republic Commandos. These Commandos had recovered valuable intelligence which they received clearance to deliver to the Supreme Chancellor himself. One member of the squad went forward to deliver the information and was swiftly attacked by the Chancellor, who had drawn dual lightsabers and revealed his true self: Darth Sidious. Everything did not as the Dark Lord of the Sith had planned. The Commando avoided his blades and Force abilities and the squad arrived, as did Wasp with members of Hornet Battalion. When the Commando, Ulysses, presented holographic evidence from his on-person camera showing what had taken place, Sidious and his Red Guard turned on them. Senate Commandos arrived and opened fire on the Hornet troopers, before being turned on by the Red Guard. The Red Guard was not allowed to leave any witnesses who had seen Chancellor's true identity. Only 7537 and the commando squad survived the incident. They actually managed to knock the Dark Side Force sensitive unconscious before exiting the Senate Building. Senate Commandos, law enforcement and several quick reaction force units arrived and engaged them until one of the commandos hijacked a Low Altitude Assault Transport and they made their escape. Wasp attempted to explain the situation over his legion's personal communications channel, however those among the 373rd who responded to his distress call -predominantly troopers from Hornet Battalion- found themselves attacked by a legion of bootlegged B2 super battle droids, supposedly the last of the Confederate war machines smuggled on-world by the criminal element. Officially, all of the units present worked together to eliminate the threat. Unofficially, at least one platoon of Senate Commandos and the entirety of the platoon of Hornet Battalion troopers -save Wasp himself- had been killed in battle. The entire incident was quickly covered up, as most of the senators and staff on the scene had no idea what was actually happening at the time. The commandos laid a false trail and had Wasp holed up inside a safehouse outside of the capital city, where he was confronted by his Jedi General, Jar Masusu. After a brief conversation Masusu was able to see that Wasp was a sane man who had been shaken to his core. It was at that moment that a Zillo Battalion LAAT opened fire on the safehouse. They narrowly escaped, only to be faced with a squad of Zillo Battalion & Coruscant Guard troopers. All of the troopers were killed except for one ARC trooper, who went by the name "Jaws". Wasp was wounded and Masusu was captured, but saved from private execution by the Commandos. Eventually they escaped the planet. Under the Empire A short time following the rise of the Galactic Empire, Wasp raided an Imperial base on Orto Plutonia with a squad of resisting volunteers in search of information. They were caught, the squad was killed, and he was captured by troopers from the 7th Sky Corps. ARC-6224-7 "Thrust", now a captain in-charge of the Freelance Airborne Company following it's removal from the 373rd's unit composition, arrived on-site with thirty loyal troopers with riot shields who would follow his commands. They questioned Wasp's capture and reports claiming that he had been killed during the B2 attack on the Senate building, and Thrust attempted to pull rank on the lieutenant in the room. When the lieutenant refused to budge, the Freelancers opened fire with stun blasts. Reinforcements were called in and the Freelancers ran out of charges for their stun ammunition. They held a desperate last stand against their brethren and the human newcomers in the 7th, while Wasp escaped with help from Ulysses's Commando squad, the same squad who had uncovered the truth about Palpatine and fled Coruscant. Aftermath The Commando Squad that Wasp served alongside was probably neutralised by Imperial forces. At one point, he may have met a clone named "Exces".Category:Character Category:ARC-7537 Category:Wasp Category:373rd Arrowhead Legion Category:Hornet Battalion Category:Major Category:Advanced Recon Commando